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Introduction of our Fulbright Scholar(back to top)
Dr. Herta M. Keilbach, Professor of Foreign Languages and English as a Second Language at Long Beach City College has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant to lecture and do research at the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, during the 2004-2005 academic year, by the Untied States Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. |
Raised in Graz, Austria, Dr. Keilbach immigrated with her mother and two younger sisters to Los Angeles. She began her undergraduate studies at Mount Saint Mary’s College, Brentwood, where she received a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology. She subsequently received two Masters Degrees of Arts: one from California State University Long Beach in English Linguistics with a specialization in English as a Second Language (ESL) and a second Master Degree in Arts and a Ph.D. in the German Language and Literature from the University of Southern California.
She taught at Marymount College from 1971–1973 all levels of German, Comparative Literature, Mathematics, including calculus and differential equations. Since 1973 Dr. Keilbach has been a professor of Foreign Languages and ESL at Long Beach City College. From 1986–1998 she was Department Chair of Foreign Languages.
Dr. Keilbach was instrumental in launching the Study Abroad Program for the Foreign Language Department. She started, conducted and was program director and teacher for the LBCC German Program in Salzburg Austria from 1985–1992. Keilbach also pioneered and started the Spanish Program in Salamanca, Spain, 1986.
On her Sabbatical Leave in 1998 she spent the fall semester as a Foreign Scholar in ESL at East China University of Politics and Law, reviewing their ESL program, meeting and consulting with faculty, conducting student interviews and doing research.
Keilbach's interest in the country of Sri Lanka came the way many other rewards came to her: from a student. An exceptionally bright young woman by the name of Lasanda Bibile ignited her interest in Sri Lanka. Not only did she take two of Keilbach's advanced ESL writing classes, but also her advanced German Honors classes. She reported and wrote on Sri Lanka, both in the ESL classes in English, and in the advanced level Honor Classes in German. She has since continued her inquiry into the history, country, peoples and culture and she is eager to now learn more and contribute on the ground in that country.
It means to have been awarded a Fulbright grant, not only for academic and professional excellence but also for leadership potential.
While as a grantee you pursue a professional project, you also promote mutual understanding and respect between the United States and other nations. In this sense Fulbrighters are cultural ambassadors to their host countries and active and involved members of their communities upon returning home.
Throughout the years the Fulbright program became highly respected, so that a grantee comes with the cachet of being a Fuibrighter.
Becoming a Fulbrighter means you have joined a very special group of more than 250,000 alumni in approximately 140 countries who, since 1946, have become heads of state, judges ambassadors, cabinet ministers, CEO's, university presidents, journalists, artists, and especially professors and teachers who have influenced thousands of others. Among thousands of prominent Fulbright Scholar alumni are Milton Friedman, Nobel Prize-winning economist; Alan Leshner, CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS); Craig Barrett, CEO of Intel Corporation and Rita Dove, Pulitzer Prizewinning poet.
The Fulbright Program was established in 1946 under legislation introduced by former Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State.
Currently, the Fulbright Program, administered by the Council for the International Exchange of Scholars, operates in over 150 countries worldwide. For more information, see http://www.cies.org/
- Explain why you desire an appointment in the country of your choice, what you can contribute to a host institution and what you expect to gain professionally.
- Explain what experience you have had as an educator that is relevant to the Award for which you are applying. As appropriate discuss (1) the range of courses you have taught, including the method used; (2) any involvement in curriculum planning; (3) thesis guidance; (4) relevant administrative responsibilities; and (5) related research interests.
- Explain how you would adapt previously taught courses or your teaching style to the culturally and pedagogically different teaching environment presented by the assignment and for students whose first language is not English. Be clear how your attached sample course descriptions relate to this function.
- Discuss any experience you may have had in the United States or abroad that demonstrates your collegiality, adaptability, cultural sensitivity, and ability to serve as a cultural ambassador.
Following the selection of the award, I have been approved by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FSB). The FSB is the President-appointed twelve-member Board that is that is responsible for establishing worldwide policies for the program and for the selection of Fulbright recipients. The chair of the committee Dr. Steven J. Uhlfelder communicated the approval to me.
Third step:
I became a grantee after the US Sri Lanka Fulbright commission approved me. I was than invited to attend the pre-orientation meeting departure meeting in Washington D.C.
Fourth step:
After received the final grant paper I became a Fulbright scholar.
Fifth Step:
Preparation for the Journey:
Long Beach City College Press Materials
Press Release. Contact Community Relations and Marketing for more information. (562) 938-4205, druhe@lbcc.edu